High Security for Inauguration. The first presidential inauguration since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will see unprecedented security upgrades, the Post reports. While there will be the traditional Pennsylvania Avenue processional and post-parade balls, there could be 4,000 combat troops on duty on Jan. 20 and many undercover cops who will “work the crowds.” From the Post:

Plans call for sturdier barriers and more checkpoints and metal detectors along the parade route than in previous years. Officials also are setting up a higher-security ticketing and credentialing system for some events, to prevent people from using counterfeit materials to get into the balls and more restricted areas.

So we assume that sneaking into inaugural balls, which has become a sport in some political gawking circles, will be severely looked down upon. Will this mean that protesters will have a more difficult time hoisting the anarchist flag atop the Navy Memorial like in 2000?

NewYoFla News. Is relief on the Red Line finally here? After numerous weekend shutdowns of the Red Line, trains will begin passing through the New York Avenue-Florida Avenue-Gallaudet University metrorail station on Monday, the AP, via WTOP reports. But trains won’t stop at the station as it doesn’t officially open until Nov. 20.

Crystal Chic. The Post has declared that “Crystal City” and “trendy” can be used in the same sentence. In an indepth article, the Post explores how the folks who built Crystal City as a souless underground fortress have been luring locals and visitors outside to the sidewalk to new restaurants, coffee shops and the like.

>> DCist on Crystal City’s renaissance.

Briefly Noted. Ninty-eight percent of security alarms that go off in the District are false alarms, which the city says is diverting police resources from real crime … Lawmakers are trying to find ways to curb runoff from farmland that are polluting the Chesapeake Bay … Regardless of where the new baseball stadium is built, environmentalists want the new facility to be eco-friendly …

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